Anti social behaviour

It can be behaviour causing nuisance, annoyance or distress to other people living or working in a community. Every resident is responsible for the behaviour of themselves, their household and visitors, and needs to ensure they treat the neighbourhood with respect.

Anti-social behaviour can include, but is not limited to:

• Vandalism and graffiti
• Noise pollution
• Litter or fly tipping
• Domestic abuse
• Verbal abuse
• Criminal behaviour
• Drug or substance misuse or dealing
• Alcohol related behaviour
• Pets and animal nuisance
• Threatening behaviour
• Harassment

We will do all we can to help prevent anti-social behaviour and will:

• Keep the tenancy agreement under review to ensure that firm guidelines and sanctions are outlined
• Take firm action and publicise that action
• Train officers on an annual basis so they are equipped with the necessary skills to enforce the tenancy conditions
• Work with the police and the local authority to tackle anti-social behaviour if and when it occurs

We have powers to take action where a tenant, their family or visitors cause nuisance or harassment to others, have committed an arrestable offence or been involved in anti-social behaviour. This could result in the tenant losing their home.

We are committed to the prevention of anti-social behaviour and hope to tackle problems quickly and efficiently. We will do this by:

• Taking your complaint seriously and investigating thoroughly
• Ask residents to sign our Good Neighbourhood Agreement at sign up
• Informing you of our plan of action and providing you with a timescale
• Letting you know how you can help yourself while we are investigating
• Keeping you informed and up-to-date with any decisions we make

We may try to solve a problem by mediation between the two parties. This involves both groups coming together with an independent person to try to seek a solution.

What you can do:

If you feel able to discuss the problem with the person concerned please do so in a polite and considerate manner. Explain why you are upset and how you hope to deal with the problem. This should be done early on if possible as some people may not be aware their behaviour is unacceptable.

We understand that in some more severe cases you will not be able to speak to the person concerned directly. In this instance you should inform us. It is helpful to the investigation if you keep a diary of any instances where anti-social behaviour has occurred.

You can report anti-social behaviour by:

• Telephone
• Letter
• Email
• Speaking to a member of staff
• Speaking to your housing officer

To find out more about our approach to tackling anti-social behaviour or if you would like a copy of our Anti Social Behaviour Policy please contact us.